DENVER BRONCOS (-3.5) VS. Jacksonville Jaguars: The Broncos visit the Jaguars in Mile High as both teams come off a win in Week 2. The Jay Cutler era is off to a great start (2-0), while the David Garrard era has been less than smooth for the 1-1 Jaguars. The Broncos have used new RB Travis Henry early in games to help open up the passing lanes for Cutler and things should be no different here. The Jags played much better run defense against the Falcons, after getting shredded by the Titans in Week 1. Pro Bowl DT's Marcus Stroud and John Henderson will force Henry to run outside in order to find decent running room. Cutler in turn will be able to throw on the Jaguar secondary, which is weak beyond corner Rashean Mathis. For the Jaguars, RB's Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew have not gotten the type of yardage they gathered last season, which has hurt the passing game due to the fact Garrard has had to throw in way too many third-and-long situations. The Broncos have struggled against the run so far this season and so the Jags should be much better offensively due to a better running game. The Jaguars will still have trouble throwing however as Denver has star CB Champ Bailey around to shut down half the field.
The Broncos are the much more talented team here and we are surprised this line is not higher. The problem for Denver is that they have barely gotten by two weak opponents (Buffalo, Oakland) and if they don't run the ball, then they will struggle. The Jaguars have two of the best DT's in the game as we noted above and those two could very well bottle up the Bronco rushing attack. Look for a close one here. THE PICK: Jacksonville Jaguars (+3.5)
******BEST BET*****NEW YORK JETS (-2.5) VS. Miami Dolphins:
****BEST BET*****OAKLAND RAIDERS (-3) VS. Cleveland Browns:
****STRONG OPINION*****NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (-16.5) VS Buffalo Bills:
******BEST BET*****Indianapolis Colts (-5.5) VS. HOUSTON TEXANS:
PITTSBURGH STEELERS (-8.5) VS. San Francisco 49ers: Great match up here as the 2-0 49ers visit the 2-0 Steelers in Pittsburgh. Both teams have been very efficient defensively and have run the ball well on offense. This has the makings of a low scoring, grind-it-out affair that will eat up the clock. The Steelers will again lean on RB Willie Parker who has run for over 100 yards in both of their games so far this season, which has proven to be a very effective way to open up the passing game for QB Ben Roethlisberger. The same goes for the 49ers as star RB Frank Gore ran for a big TD last week against St. Louis, while made up for a lackluster passing game by QB Alex Smith. Smith has struggled so far in both 49ers wins but his ability to use his feet to escape the pocket will be very valuable against a tough Steelers pass rush. Look for the 'Niners to take advantage of the short passing game as Smith will try to find seams underneath to help keep the pressure at bay.
This game will be a tough affair for both with a lot of hard-hitting defense and clock management being the main storyline. The Steelers are much better equipped to succeed under these types of game scenarios and they should use the home crowd to once again take control of a young team like they did last week against Buffalo. THE PICK: Pittsburgh Steelers (-8.5)
CHICAGO BEARS (-3) VS. Dallas Cowboys: The surprising Dallas Cowboys head into Soldier Field to take on Chicago Bears in an early season heavyweight battle between two prime NFL contenders. The Bears once again are struggling offensively as they barely beat a terrible Chiefs team at home last week, while the Cowboys continue to roll offensively as they went into Miami and easily handled the Dolphins. Dallas QB Tony Romo has been fantastic through two games and he certainly looks like the real deal. After getting shredded by the Giants during opening week, the Dallas defense responded with a nice game against Miami by picking off four Trent Green passes. If the defense can continue to play at such a high level, then things truly can be special for this Cowboys squad. Despite their offensive struggles, the Bears defense is still top-notch and will certainly be the biggest test for Romo and Co. The Cowboys will not find the type of passing lanes with Bear CB's Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher in the secondary as they did against the Giants and Dolphins. So look for Romo to find his favorite target, TE Jason Witten who will face a pivotal battle against MLB Brian Urlacher. If Witten can win this battle, then Dallas will be in business. If Urlacher wins, then the Cowboys could find themselves bogged down on the offensive side of the ball. For Rex Grossman, he must try and find some consistency and soon as the Chicago fan base is growing increasingly impatient with his turnover-filled ways. The Dallas secondary can be thrown on and so Grossman has the chance to get himself on track. RB Cedric Benson's 100-plus yard effort last week was big news as his production is tied in to what Grossman will be able to do throwing the ball. The home crowd should be raucous with the nationally hated Cowboys coming into town so look for a bigger boost on both sides of the ball for Chicago. Special teams will also play a role here as both kickers might be called on to make kicks in what is expected to be a low-scoring game.
The Cowboys have a good chance to be 3-0 against a flawed Bears team but the fact they are playing the second in back-to-back road games is a red handicapping flag. Teams that have won and covered their first game on back-to-back road games have gone 10-21-1 ATS in the second road game. The Bears are due for a lockdown defensive game and Grossman is also due for a decent passing game. The Bears will win a squeaker. THE PICK: Chicago Bears (-3)
*******WASHINGTON REDSKINS (-4) VS. New York Giants*******STRONG OPINION
BALTIMORE RAVENS (- VS. Arizona Cardinals: The Ravens and Cardinals both got on the board last week as Baltimore barely knocked off the Jets at home, while Arizona held on for an impressive victory over the Seahawks. For the Ravens, the availability of QB Steve McNair is still in question as backup Kyle Boller played well last week in his place. Despite whoever does wind up starting, the Ravens passing game have been shaky this season despite having decent weapons on WR's Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton, along with TE Todd Heap. The Cardinals have gone through similar struggles as QB Matt Leinart has failed to consistently get the ball to his star WR duo of Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. The big disparity between these two teams are found in their defensive units as the Ravens once again are one of the best in the league, while the Cardinals still give up a ton of yards. You can't deny the talent on this team however and last week's win over Seattle was big in that these were the types of games the Cardinals habitually found a way to lose. The fact that they were able to hang on and win against a decent opponent could signal that this team has figured out how to win and to realize their vast potential. Confidence will be high going into Baltimore and we expect a good effort by Arizona.
The Ravens have the advantage of playing at home and they will be extra focused after almost throwing away last week's game against the Jets. The Ravens are also very tough as a home favorite against a non-division foe as they have gone 19-5-1 ATS when hosting a non-division foe. Look for a big effort here from the Ravens. THE PICK: Baltimore Ravens (-
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (-2.5) VS. Minnesota Vikings: The Chiefs played a very inspired game against a very tough Bears team on the road last week, while the Vikings offense prevented Minnesota from winning a game the Lions begged them to win. Particularly troubling for the Vikings was the horrid performance by QB Tarvaris Jackson who clearly looks like he is not ready for the full-time starting job as he threw for 4 interceptions and missed many open receivers. Coach Brad Childress has stated Jackson will start again this week and that should be good news for the Chiefs who played much better on defense last week, although it was against a struggling Bears offense. The Chiefs have ultra-talented RB Larry Johnson to fall back on and expect to see a large dose of him running against a very good Vikings run defense. QB Damon Huard should find some passing lanes to throw to as Minnesota's secondary is a clear weakness on an otherwise solid defensive unit. Huard has had trouble locating star TE Tony Gonzalez so far this season but this is the type of match up where there should be ample opportunities for the two to connect for some decent yardage. If Huard is in fact able to get the ball to Gonzalez as we expect, then this should open up enough running room for Johnson to be able to make some good gains.
The Vikings passing game as we noted is a mess and things will continue to go south as long as Jackson is starting. He has decent speed but his passing mechanics are terrible and the Vikings would be much better off with backup Kelly Holcomb starting. Adrian Peterson found the going a little tougher last week against Detroit and we the jury is still out on whether he can carry the full rushing load for the duration of the year. The struggles of the offense will give the Chiefs a prime opportunity to get on the board with their first win and don't think that they don't realize this. No team wants to start 0-3 and so extra motivation will be on the side of Kansas City. Arrowhead is one of the toughest places in the league to play and this will further impact Jackson in a negative way. The Chiefs take one at home in front of their crazed crowd. If Jackson misses this game with injury (he has a strained groin) then stay away from this one. THE PICK: Kansas City Chiefs (-2.5) (only if Jackson plays or else pass)
*****STRONG OPINION****San Diego Chargers (-4.5) VS. GREEN BAY PACKERS:
******STRONG OPINION****TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (-3.5) VS. St. Louis Rams:
*******BEST BET*****Carolina Panthers (-3.5) VS. ATLANTA FALCONS:
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (-6) VS. Detroit Lions: The Eagles have been a huge disappointment as their 0-2 start has many in Philly land questioning how good this team really is. QB Donovan McNabb looks rusty after missing the second half of last season with injury and he is already hearing the boo-birds from the Philly faithful. The running game has also struggled as RB Brian Westbrook hasn't yet had the type of big game he routinely achieved last year. This team is still very talented and in the weak NFC, they still have time to right the ship and be a solid contender. They need a win first and they get a 2-0 Lions team that is gaining confidence after consecutive hard-fought wins over the Raiders and Vikings. Off course both of those teams are in the bottom third in the league talent wise so let's not go overboard with their early run. The Eagles are sitting on a big game and the Lions are the type of self-destructing team that gets affected by the type of raucous crowd they will see in Philadelphia. QB Jon Kitna is always prone to interceptions and the solid Eagles defense will put the heat on him throughout. Look for Philly to put it all together in a dominant home win. THE PICK: Philadelphia Eagles (-6)
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (-3.5) VS. Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals were absolutely humiliated last week against the Browns in Cleveland as they allowed Jamal Lewis to run for over 200 yards against them and Derek Anderson to throw for 5 TD's!!!!! Giving up over 50 points is disgraceful and it won't get any easier against a Seattle offense has that even more weapons than the Browns. Offense is not a problem for the Bengals either as QB Carson Palmer racked up a ridiculous 6 passing TD's which helped WR Chad Johnson gain over 200 receiving yards. Those types of numbers won't be repeated against a decent Seattle defense but this game figures to be an offensive battle.
The Seahawks haven't gotten totally on track but this is still almost the same team that went to the Super Bowl two seasons ago. RB Shaun Alexander is once again running with confidence and QB Matt Hasselbeck is growing more and more comfortable with WR Deion Branch. The 'Hawks need this one due to the fact they are then heading out onto to the road for back-to-back tough opponents waiting for them in San Francisco and Pittsburgh. The Seahawks should put up a good number of points on a very weak Bengals defense and they should also be much more resistant to the Palmer-Johnson air show. The Seahawk crowd is also possibly the loudest in the league and so it all adds up to a Seattle win and cover. THE PICK: Seattle Seahawks (-3.5)
******BEST BET******NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (-3.5) VS. Tennessee Titans:
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